HMAS Hobart (D39)

HMAS Hobart in California, 1992
History
Australia
Namesake:	City of Hobart
Builder:	Defoe Shipbuilding Company, Michigan, USA
Laid down:	26 October 1962
Launched:	9 January 1964
Commissioned:	18 December 1965
Decommissioned:	12 May 2000
Motto:	"Sic Fortis Hobartia Crevit" (Thus Did Hobart Grow Strong)
Honours and awards:	Battle honours: Vietnam 1967–70 plus eight inherited honours Awards: Navy Unit Commendation (United States)
Fate:	Sunk as dive wreck 5 November 2002
General characteristics
Class and type:	Perth-class guided missile destroyer
Displacement:	3,370 tons standard 4,618 tons full load
Length:	440 ft 3 in (134.19 m) length overall 420 ft (130 m) between perpendiculars
Beam:	47 ft 1 in (14.35 m)
Draught:	15 ft 3 in (4.65 m) maximum
Propulsion:	2 × General Electric steam turbines, 70,000 shp (52,000 kW), 2 shafts
Speed:	35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Range:	6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement:	20 officers, 312 sailors
Armament:	1 × Mk 13 launcher for Tartar, then Standard missiles 2 × 5"/54 caliber Mark 42 guns 2 × Mark 32 triple torpedo tube sets 2 × Ikara anti-submarine missile launchers (removed 1989) 2 × Phalanx CIWS (installed 1991)

HMAS Hobart (D 39) was a Perth class guided missile destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built in the United States of America to a slight variant of the United States Navy (USN) Charles F. Adams class, she was commissioned into the RAN in 1965. In March 1967, Hobart became the first RAN combat ship deployed to fight in the Vietnam War. This marked the start of consistent six-month deployments to the warzone, which continued until late 1971; Hobart was redeployed in 1969 and 1970. During the 1968 tour, the destroyer was attacked by a United States Air Force aircraft.

After the Vietnam War, Hobart saw service during Operation Navy Help Darwin; the RAN disaster relief effort following Cyclone Tracy, was the first RAN ship to dock at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia, and completed a round-the-world voyage in 1975. The ship was modernised during the late 1970s. Hobart was decommissioned in 2000, and sunk as a dive wreck off South Australia.

Hobart was one of three Perth class guided missile destroyers built for the RAN. Based on the United States Navy's Charles F. Adams class, Hobart had a displacement of 3,370 tons at standard load, and 4,618 tons at full load, a length of 440 feet 3 inches (134.19 m) overall and 420 feet (130 m) between perpendiculars, a beam of 47 feet 1 inch (14.35 m), and a maximum draught of 15 feet 3 inches (4.65 m). Propulsion was provided by two General Electric turbines, which provided 70,000 shaft horsepower (52,000 kW) to the destroyer's two propeller shafts.Hobart could achieve speeds of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph). The ship's company consisted of 20 officers and 312 sailors.